


Price to Be Paid

by AppleSoda



Series: Data and Dreams [1]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Adventure & Romance, Angst, F/M, KH3 spoilers, Mermaids, Mystery, some ddd spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-15
Packaged: 2020-01-10 19:50:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,220
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18414692
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppleSoda/pseuds/AppleSoda
Summary: During her Mark of Mastery exam, Kairi is sent into a dreaming world by the sea and  tasked to protect a prince there. But soon she begins to notice that something is amiss further out at sea, especially when a familiar necklace washes up.





	1. Lost and Found

The shipwreck was the best thing to happen to her. Of course, Kairi had hoped no one else on the ship had gotten hurt when it had gotten tossed against the rocks in the storm. But as far as things stood, the Prince’s men had circled her and started questioning just how a strange girl and two monsters had fallen from the sky and landed aboard the vessel. Unlike Riku, who could brush off the incident by looking tough, or Sora, who could probably talk his way out, Kairi froze up. For once, she was glad that in the Sleeping Worlds, no one could see her experience incredibly awkward situations.

 

Then, something had emerged out of the depths. It moved too quickly for her to notice, but her fighting instincts had kicked in, and she leapt to the defense of the people aboard the ship. But as soon as she was certain that some damage had been done, down came an enormous claw or flipper and cleaved the ship in half in one clean strike. Whatever it was— Nightmare, most probably, it seemed to have an advantage in sea battles.

 

As Kairi peeled her seawater-soaked bangs away from her face and dusted herself off, she glanced up, finally taking a look at what kind of world that the Mark of Mastery exam had sent her to this time.The skies had calmed significantly since the storm, and all around her, the ship lay in pieces. The beach where she stood was calm and quiet, and the waves now gently lapped up against the warm sand.

 

Nervously, Kairi walked across the shoreline, glancing curiously at the castle that loomed over the shoreline. She was alone, save the company of her Dream Eaters, one in the shape of a seal and the other a small cat with a bounce in its step, followed quietly. She held up a finger to her lips and signalled for them to stay quiet, in case more of the Prince’s suspicious servants were sneaking about. Surprisingly, they obliged, and walked daintily right besides her.

 

“Okay, you can do this. You have a very important reason you’re taking this exam,” she said under her breath. “No one’s died—oof!”

 

At that moment, Kairi realized she had tripped over someone lying unconscious on the beach. With a shriek, she leapt back, keyblade at the ready in case he turned out to be a Dream eater in disguise. Those she could take. Or a zombie, of whom her fighting prospects seemed far less certain in a match-up. There was no ruling out they didn’t exist in a world somewhere, was there?

 

The black-haired young man turned to to be human, from the looks of it, and, if the slow rise and fall of his chest was any indication, still alive. His clothes, like hers, were rumpled and bore all the signs of being tossed off a moving ship into the ocean. Breathing a sigh of relief, she let the weapon disappear. Kairi knew that she had already gotten off to a bad start in the world. Something had to change, or the mission wouldn’t go very well.

 

A glint in the sand nearby caught her eye. Luckily enough, it was behind a boulder, out of sight of the collapsed man. With a quick leap, Kairi bounded off a nearby cliffside and landed near the lost object. Her fingers dug through the sand and closed on something small and sharp.

 

“Wait…isn’t this…” The sand around the object fell apart to reveal a small silver crown attached to the links of a chain. At the sight of it, Kairi felt a distant, faraway ache in her heart. The first thing she noticed was that there was some weight to the pendant. The second was a recollection that ever since Sora received it when he was thirteen or so, she had never seen him without it. That couldn’t be good, if Sora himself was nowhere to be found in this world or any of the other worlds that she had battled through.

 

Idly, she tossed the necklace up so that it caught the light and landed in her palm, softly tinkling as the chain pooled at the base of the pendant. It was hard not to look at it and miss him. And if they saw each other face to face, she would return what had been lost. It was a simple solution to a simple problem— something that had been in short supply when it came to what Kairi had been facing lately. Just as with many worlds she had visited, the realm that she stood in now wasn’t telling her a great deal about Sora, and about what she had to do next.

 

By the time she turned her gaze towards the shore once more, she saw only the quiet splash of something far off in the distance. It almost looked like the tail of a whale, shark, or some kind of dolphin. The latter was probably it, but if she remembered correctly, they usually traveled in groups, unless they were lost. She had always had a soft spot for animals, whether they were strange dogs popping out of portals or in this case, whatever dolphin had strayed too far from its pod.

 

Still, the possibility that it was something sinister she had to fight wasn’t out of the question. Opening her journal, Kairi crossed out ‘zombies’ and wrote down ‘Sea Monsters?????’, circled it a few times, then closed it again. Whatever was happening, the case remained open.

 

“I found him!” called a voice from above. She looked up, to find two relieved-looking men point towards the shore. “Looks like that girl’s brought Prince Eric back to shore!”

 

“I know her! She was fighting whatever sunk our ship!” the other exclaimed.

 

It wasn’t all true, necessarily. She had no idea how the two of them had ended up on the beach again. But if anything, Kairi was all too glad to avoid being labeled as an assassin again. She gave a tentative nod and a little wave as they approached the still-unconscious man to check how he was doing. If she was going to be finding anything about what led her to Sora’s pendant, then it lay with the ship, the Prince, and the monster that had sunk it.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know what they say: in the dreaming worlds no one can hear you not know about the crab with the Jamaican accent that explains where you actually are


	2. Glimpsing Distant Tides

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *GESTURES AT KH3 SPOILERS TAG*

Kairi was in love.

 

Throughout her often-difficult journey throughout different worlds, she had one consistent solace, a fixed point that always brought a smile to her face without fail, and would lead her out of whatever darkness loomed.

 

“Oh my gosh, he’s like if a cloud sprouted legs! I could pet him forever.” Kairi laughed, ruffling the fur of the poofiest dog she had ever seen. For his part, Max panted happily and thumped his tail, delighted at the new friend who heaped attention onto him.

 

“Alright, alright, I can multitask— let’s talk about what you saw the other night.” Though Kairi resumed scratching Max the sheepdog behind the ears, she looked towards Eric, who was approving of the rapport his newest bodyguard had built with one of his most trusted confidants.

 

It had been a while since she had seen Pluto, the last dog that had been in her life, and she missed having a canine companion, even if it wasn’t the king’s. A Meow Wow had been a cuddly companion in the Dreaming Worlds, but absolutely nothing made a one-to-one substitute for a real dog. This was a top priority to ask for if she ever made it back to the Islands. Sora was probably a dog person, she thought. Riku was probably more of a person that was reluctant to get one, but would grumpily acquiesce to a pet’s affections.

 

“Well, I don’t remember much, but I have this hunch.”

 

“Those can be helpful.” Kairi supplied. “What’s your hunch?” She watched the dog curiously sniff at the Dream Eaters, pausing as he examined the cat-shaped one with some suspicion

 

“As soon as I dropped into the ocean, I felt this warmth like…someone was looking out for me. Like they knew they were waiting and would do whatever it took to save me.” Eric closed his eyes and likely thought through the moment that soemone had held him, swam up to the surface, and deposited him on the beach. He possessed a certainty that that moment sparked some sort of a connection that he wanted to revisit.

 

. Something similar might have happened to her that night, too, even though Keyblade wielders were a little sturdier than the average person. But memory could be scattershot, and for her in particular, the Dreaming Worlds were full of illusions born of things that hearts had wanted to be true. Did that apply to the people living in those worlds? 

 

Her intuition pulled her towards holding what she wanted close to her, and to tell no one what she was really there to do. It was easy enough to lend her blade, of course, when trouble arose. That much was easy enough to commit to as far as any Keyblade wielder worth their salt was concerned.As Eric looked back towards the castle on the shore, he spotted someone and looked anxious to go back. And so, too, would Kairi, if she wanted to keep a low profile.

 

“Why don’t we try to search the beach later, for clues? Maybe your savior return to the scene of the crime, so to speak.” She curled her hand into a fist and smacked it lightly against her open palm. “If monsters show up again, I think I can handle it.”

 

It couldn’t be ruled out that if something in the ocean plucked them from the shipwreck to shore, something sinister was also out at sea. That was always the consistency in the test Kairi had been assigned to. And she intended to pass with flying colors

 

= = =

 

Night fell as Prince and novice Keyblade wielder made their way back down towards the ocean. The seas were calm as Eric lead the way, holding a torch and looking warily over his shoulder, in case anyone followed them. A grey-colored mist had settled over the sands, and small tide pools formed as the waters came in.

 

“Are you much of an adventurer?” She asked.

 

“I’d like to think so, but…I haven’t gone out to sea as much as I’ve wanted to,” the Prince admitted. “My tutors have said that there’s more ocean that covers the world than land. How exciting is that?” He exclaimed. “Just think of what could be out there…”

 

Kairi thought about the words ‘sea monsters,’ written down and circled in her journal several times as a theory on the ship. She nodded in what looked like agreement. Then, a disturbance at the surface of the water caught their attention.

 

A girl with hair even redder than hers and a curious experssion rose out of the waves, looking out towards the beach with apprehension. After her was another face, this one painfully familiar to Kairi. He had a determined expression and looked to be on any other adventure. 

 

“Wait, Sora….how did you get here?” Kairi’s voice remained steady, even though her heart hammered loudly enough in her chest that she could almost hear it. It wasn’t altogether impossible that he could reappear, though she had spent a good part of the last day wondering just what to say if she had found him in the Sleeping Worlds.The reason that his necklace had been left on the shoreline had come to light, but she hadn’t connected two and two. But where several questions had been answered, more had risen to take their place. “And it’s freezing. Why are you in the ocean?” She rubbed her hands against her arms, shivering a little as the wind picked up.

 

“Things work a little differently here,” He glanced off to the side sheepishly. A moment later, she saw him dive into the water and the flippers of a dolphin appear and disappear, quick as a flash, across the ocean. When Sora re-emerged, that was the moment she had put that particular part of the puzzle together. “But you’re a little different too. Why is that?”

 

Kairi could only shake her head in response. That answer warranted far more than she was willing to talk about, because it would reveal too much in front of the denizens of the Dreaming Worlds. “Is there a reason the two of you have appeared?”

 

“My name is Ariel . We’re chasing after a monster in the ocean that’s been attacking our Kingdom of Atlantica, and getting closer to land,” said the red-headed girl. “He’s looking for something, and Sora and I can’t stop it from advancing.” Inwardly, she was pleased for at least getting the threat of a sea-monster correct, even if Sora and Ariel, who had saved her and the Prince, weren’t monsters themselves.

 

“That’s awful,” said Eric. “What can we do?”

 

“We need someone on land to help trap it tomorrow,” answered Ariel. She snuck a look at the Prince for a moment that seemed to last a little longer than could be attributed to pure curiosity. Kairi couldn’t help but grin a little at the pair, who seemed to be infatuated with one another quickly. Perhaps the Keyblade had a bit of fate tied to its nature. But soon enough, a reminder that fate could cut both ways resurfaced, and she raised her hand as their plans for facing down the monster drew to a close.

 

“Could I talk to him for a moment?” She asked the mermaid. “Sora and I know each other, and I…I haven’t seen him in quite some time.”Eric waited off in the distance out of earshot, watching the sea-princess dive back into the depths with a wistful, unreadable expression.

 

When she was certain they were alone, Kairi made her way down to the shoreline with an important question. He had come up to the suface too, and was leaning on a sandbar, as if this had just been an ordinary day.

 

“I need to know one thing,” she crossed her arms, facing Sora. “When we went to a theme park three years ago, what did Riku have an allergic reaction to?” asked Kairi, her voice clipped and terse.

 

“…Wh-what does that have to do with anything?” Although he had the same confused expression that was characteristic of Sora when he didn’t understand something, that itself wasn’t good enough.

 

“Sora, I really have to know if it’s you or not. Answer the question.”

 

He reached up and rubbed the underside of his nose. “Pistachio ice cream. But…what’s going on? Is there a copy of me running around?”

 

That was also a case that couldn’t be ruled out, particularly given past circumstances. But Kairi shook her head. She had debated with herself of just what to say, but if Sora deserved anything, even a dream or copy or illusory version of him, he deserved the truth. Even though whatever magic trapped them there would end, she needed to tell him.

 

“I needed to know it was really you, because I’m from somewhere where you’ve been gone, Sora…” The tears came to her at last as she reached for Sora, and her arms closed around him. “You gave everything up to save me, and you haven’t come back…”

 

Kairi voice broke as she said the words, and pain, jagged and sudden, reopened the memories of the fact that outside of whatever dream they dwelled in, she hadn’t seen the boy that had held her heart for quite some time. It had been her fault, that rash streak of recklessness in the Keyblade Graveyard that had caused her to fall. And when she had finally woken up again, it had been at the most devastating cost she could think of.

 

Long ago, when she had thought Sora was lost, she had held a little Shadow and hoped against hope that he could come back. Back then, it had worked. Now, she wasn’t sure if anything would. She felt Sora hold onto her, and felt tiny drops fall onto her arms. Whether it was seawater or tears, she wasn’t certain, but as she heard the hitch in his breath, Kairi was certain she could make an educated guess.

 

“For what it’s worth, I…don’t regret wanting to keep you safe, Kairi.” There was a little redness in his eyes as they broke apart, and he sunk back into the sea.

 

“I know,” she could only answer. “And I don’t know how long this world is going to last, because it’s only a dream-made copy. But I…I just needed to tell you that I’ve missed you. And I’m going to find you again, for good.” That was a promise that she wanted to keep , no matter how many dreams tried to obscure or bury, and that alone was her reason to fight for a Mark of Mastery.

 

 

 


	3. The Witch and the Relic

Dreams never worked out quite the way that one expected them to. They had a way of targeting everything that someone could be afraid of, everything that seemed just out of reach, and then twisting those wishes. But they could also push someone out of despair, and back onto what they needed to do. The problem was, Kairi wasn’t sure which was which.

 

Riku had warned her about something like this, and she had waved it off. They were both practical, she argued. She could tough out illusions, even if they looked too good to be true. Well, too good to be true lived up to what it had sounded like.

 

The undersea cavern where she found herself had taken some time to get to, even with the help of two Dream Eaters and a little guidance from two merpeople. Though the Sora she had come across seemed real enough and certainly felt real enough, the fact remained that it was impossible for him to be there. And that meant finding out precisely how the world worked. The monster ravaging the ocean-side kingdom had to be stopped as well. All those worries were perfect as a distraction to not think about the one thing that had worried her the most. And sealed away from everyone else she knew, Kairi knew she had to figure a solution alone.

 

“Let’s not mope too much,” she said, talking to the seal-like Dream Eater that swam lazily above her, but more to herself. “What if this means he’s _not_ gone for good? Hmm? How nice would that be?” Spinning it about, she tossed it up in the air and caught it.

 

In reply, the creature only bopped the watermelon it rolled over enemies playfully, and let out a squeak that she chose to read as empathetic and hopeful. The thin layer of magic that shimmered over her clothes and allowed her to pass through water was the only source of light in the cave, save the occasional orb mounted in the walls that glowed a sickly pale green. Something lying in the corner resembled a skeleton chained to the wall with the spine of a fish where its legs should have been.

 

“Great,” Kairi muttered. “How welcoming…”

 

As if on cue, four skeletal-looking Nightmares swam out of the depths of the cake, gnashing rows of razor-sharp venomous teeth and dashing at her Dream Eaters at alarmingly fast speeds. Funny, thought Kairi, how the creatures that constantly tried to make mincemeat out of her and her Spirits were comforting to see. In a day that was filled with questions that looked impossible to answer, this was a much-needed familiar certainty to run into.

 

= = =

 

By the time she reached what appeared to be the end of the cavern, Kairi was breathing hard and uncertain that she could take out another squadron of Nightmares from the deep. Though the magic that kept her safe and alive underwater still lingered, the sinking feeling that something far more difficult lurked at the end was one she couldn’t shake off. Would it have been better to have called on Sora to help, even if he did have to search for the monster with Ariel?

 

She shook her head. This was something she had to investigate for herself.

 

In the rounded chamber was a woman with the body of a ink-black-and-purple octopus. She swam lazily about the chamber, eying Kairi not with the look of any sea creature, but one of a lioness she had seen at a zoo once that snarled at any keeper that had gotten too close. On the table before her was a crystal ball that shone mirror-bright and was filled with colorful shapes that swirled and shifted. Her prize was within sight, and the question was to figure out how to use it.

 

And off to the side, two eels stared down Kairi’s Dream Eaters in hunger, like they hadn’t eaten in ages. She glared at them, and brandished the Keyblade, stepping between the whimpering seal and the two minions.

 

“No need. They won’t bite…unless I”ve got a good reason for them to,” the woman spoke. “Now, do you have a good reason to see auntie Ursula, little land-princess?”

 

“Um, I didn’t actually know what was in this cave…So…” She looked around warily, checking for any other exits. None seemed to exist, of course. Her pretense wasn’t a very good one, but the crystal ball

 

“The ocean is a powerful place, darling. And with a name like yours, you’d know that more clearly than others. And I can bring back that clever little nuisance of a Keyblade wielder, should you choose to ask me,” The witch rounded the chamber with an air of regality and certainty that Kairi felt a bit jealous of. “Isn’t that what you’ve wanted?”

 

Of course it was. That much was easy enough to wear on her sleeve like her own heart. But what she wanted and what Ursula had planned likely differed. Out of the corner of her eye, Kairi saw a shape that looked like her move away from a monster. Was that a possible future?

 

“You could be lying,” Kairi pointed out. She had continue the witch’s tirades, and bargaining looked to be the way to do it. Fortunately, she had experience in spades in trying to keep egotistic would-be villains busy.

 

“I could. But you don’t look like a girl that’s got a lot of options, if what I’m hearing on the grapevine is right. And I’m a verrrryyyyy good listener,” the witch drew out the word with a smug grin. What was it, if not magic, that everything that seemed to be going wrong was so easy for someone like Ursula to figure out?

 

“I’m sure you are. How do I know you’d actually do anything to help Sora?” Another shift in the shapes of the crystal ball, and Kairi saw a pair shapes in the ocean- one green, one blue, lead the monstrous mass onto shore, where a pinkish blob— her, probably, waited. If that was the plan, she had finished what she needed to do.

 

“Do not underestimate what I can do within this realm, and what I know of happenings in yours,” Ursula’s voice boomed with authority. “Here, it is possible at the right price.” She pointed at Kairi’s pockets. A soft glow emanated from one of them. Kairi reached into it, and found the familiar silhouette of Sora’s necklace. She pulled the pendant out, looking the witch square in the eyes.

 

“No.”

 

“So quick to judge, darling. But there is power that sleeps in that little silver crown. Power that loosens the fix on the piece of him that is tethered here.”

 

“The piece…?” Kairi’s steps faltered. She turned around from her retreat. 

 

“You’re one of the brighter anglerfish in the box, dear. He’s not the heart you chase after, but a piece of it— scattered, broken, and lost. With the relic in hand, I can give him back to you, if you wish.”

 

“Not for free, though, right?”

 

“I seek the relic—as a token, a souvenir, really,” Even though the words were casual, she could see the Witch’s eyes gleam as they looked the necklace over. “You wouldn’t want him to wander these seas forever, now would you? How could you go back without?”

 

Forever was a very long time, and she had felt the possibility of it when Sora had vanished at first. It was that moment where Kairi was felt most certain of her powerlessness in the face of forces far stronger than her or her friends. But if she could do something, at a price, to help….

 

Her palm felt leaden with the pendant’s weight onit, and yet it grounded her at a moment when everything seemed uncertain. The terms of the contract were more or less set, should she choose to take it.

 

Closing her eyes, she thought of Sora and of Riku, and considered what they would do. A Riku of an earlier Era would have craved power, and either now, he or Sora would challenge Ursula to a head-to-head fight, and triumph at it. Neither of those solutions quite worked for her. Not when there were answers on the line that Ursula still held.

 

“I’m not going to give you my decision right now.” Even as the words came out, they sounded pathetic and indecisive. She knew that all she was buying was time, and probably not enough of it. Her mission in this world was nearing an end, and when it came time to move on, she would need to figure out just why she and Sora had been brought back together. The road ahead promised something painful, and it had already sowed the possibility of it when she had dug the necklace out of the sand.

 

“Take all the time you need,” grinned Ursula. “I’m sure you’ll do what’s good for him in the end. They always do.” As Kairi retreated from the cavern, she heard the booming cackle of the with follow her, and decided to make her next move as soon as she could.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sora gets a Meow Wow as a default, and Riku gets a Komory Bat. I gave Kairi the R&R seal because seals are the dogs of the ocean and I’ve already got a thing going with the dog person headcanon idk 
> 
> Next chapter’s the last one


	4. Into Seafoam and Air

Kairi glanced down at the shoreline anxiously with more impatience than she had ever felt. Besides her, Eric was looking towards the site where the monster was predicted to appear in Ursula’s scrying crystal. Yet, he walked with an indecisiveness that she hadn’t seen, and it was getting on her last good nerve, in combination with the high-stakes deal that Ursula had presented her with.

 

“A Monster…” he repeated. “What if it’s something I’ve never seen before. Do you think we’ll be ready for it?” Though he wasn’t exactly running away, there was apprehension in the Prince’s voice. And she couldn’t quite fault him for it.

 

The frustrating turn in the conversation had gotten a little too close to home than Kairi had wanted. The years of spending time wishing there was something to do and feeling stuck had followed her unbidden into the dream worlds. No matter how many opportunities she had attemped — and passed— at getting the confidence she needed, Kairi couldn’t quite shake off the fact that she had failed. Her answer to Eric was that of course, was that yes, they had to be ready. Specifically, she had to be ready, or she would never be ready to fight back against a true Keyblade master’s foes. But Eric didn’t have to know about any of that. He just needed a little push in the right direction.

 

“Even if you can’t fight the monster yourself, you’re going to need to know what to do next.” She asked. “It’s fine to have my help, but you have to want to fight back as well when things get difficult.”

 

That last part had been, in truth, more of a reminder for herself. The unknown was a frightening thing, and its harshness couldn’t really be cut away even through the most thought-out training regimen. But sooner or later, everyone had to face something they couldn’t quite understand.

 

The Prince paused from his pacing. “No one’s ever told me something like that before.”

 

“Well,” Kairi started down towards the shore, waving for him to follow suit. “Maybe it’s a good time to start thinking about what you’re ready to do.” Unfortunately, her time to do so also drew nearer. All she could really do was take a deep breath, and make the dive.

 

= =

 

“I think we’ve gotten it away from Atlantica,” Sora wasn’t the best at swimming, and luckily for him, Ariel knew it, and slowed down so that he could catch up. But what he lacked in experience as a merperson, he made up for in spades in demolishing Heartless and, in this case, Nightmares.

 

The shine of the keyblade drew the enormous purple-and-yellow squid over towards him, and Sora was all too happy to play bait for a few seconds, then proceed to do what he did best. Which was to start bludgeoning it by bolting towards it and striking mercilessly. As he grappled with the monster and drove it into shallower waters, it began to thrash violently, creating waves that resonated on the surface.

 

“Your turn now, Kairi,” he looked upwards, and moved to find a place to resurface, just in case it turned back towards Atlantica. The path forward was clear, and he knew that he could count on her to finish the rest of the fight.

 

Kairi arrived at the craggy, rock-ridden edge of where Prince Eric’s kingdom’s borders ended and Ariel’s began. She could hear the footsteps behind her that suggested that he had followed to try to see if help was needed. From the sea, the squid burst out angrily, its sharp-looking bladed tentacles cleaving several rocks in the process. It was no surprise that it had made quick work of a ship. But now they had drawn it out somewhere with an opportunity to stop it for good.

 

On land, the monster moved with less grace than it had swam, although it had a powerful leap that drawfed any fish or sea-creature she had ever seen back on the islands. Her dad would’ve made a joke about frying it up, most likely. But something told her that this was a tougher piece of quarry than what the fisherman dragged up in nets. She held her keyblade over her head and blocked an overhead strike from one of its tentacles, which clashed against the weapon with a metallic clang. It was as if the squid wielded blades of its own.

 

Jumping out of the way, Kairi sent her keyblade spinning towards it as hard as she could hurl it. It knocked the monster out of the way as it screeched angrily. The weapon spun backwards, and she snactched it out of the air, preparing to make her next move. Then, squid lashed out with one of its tentacles, aiming for something distant in the water.

 

“No!” she gasped, knowing just who it might have been aiming for. With a gesture, Kairi sent her Dream Eaters towards the water. Her shoes crackled as she leapt against the rocks, and sprang off of them into a gliding motion towards the monster.

 

A fisherman’s harpoon flew out lodged itself in the glowing panel on the monster’s upper body. Three rapid strikes of lightning fired off from Kairi’s keyblade, one after the other, burnt the other panel to a crisp. Glancing backwards, she spotted, Prince Eric, who had retrieved another spear and glanced towards the squid once more, as if he was ready to take aim again. It thrashed at a rock, breaking it into pieces almost instantly.

 

“Watch the glowing spots!” She called out. “I think that’s how the weak spots!” From the sea, a blast of ice was fired out at the back of the monster, freezing half of its arms in place. That had to be an assist from Sora, and one that made things a little easier.

 

As the monster screeched in pain this time, it opened its maw, where rows and rows of colorful glowing panels were there for them to see. This, thought Kairi, was their chance. She squared her shoulders, leapt towards the cliffside, and pushed herself towards the monster once more. The keyblade spun like a drill, striking out at the squid. A downward strike sent it flying towards the cliffside, where it slammed against sharp rocks and gave one last hideous cry before collapsing.

 

By the time Kairi landed on her feet once more, the monster lay prone, and was its body was fading into inky black blobs of darkness, leaving only the sand and the waves beneath it.

 

“Impressive,” said a low voice, as she watched not Sora or Ariel, but Ursula, emerge from the depths. “Who knew that you had the makings of something heroic, as well?” 

 

“Wait, don’t talk to her! She’s bad news!” She heard Sora exclaim, swimming forwards with the keyblade drawn.

 

“Ah, ah, ah…the little land-princess and I have a bargain to settle. Don’t we?” A sole tentacle shoved Sora from view as Ursula held out her hand expectedly towards. “I don’t think you’re going to get a better deal any time but now. Especially if you’re going to keep this charmer in your life.”

 

“Let him go,” Kairi said, with some certainty. “I’ve made up my mind.” 

 

She reached into her pockets. Then, tossing the necklace up in the air, she summoned her keyblade, and lunged without hesitation. The slash of metal against metal flashed bright silver throughout the dark cave, and when the light faded, the necklace had been cut cleanly in two. Behind them, Ursula’s gaze turned venomous, and her expression twisted into one of pure rage.

 

“You can’t do this,” she snarled, glowering over them all. “We had a bargain!”

 

“We _could_ have had a bargain,” Kairi corrected her. “I chose otherwise.”

 

The last thing she heard was Ursula’s scream of rage. The world around them blurred, then shattered as if it had been crafted from panes of glass. Kairi held her keyblade up, as if one weapon, even one that held its power, could block out whatever was happening. Then, she looked up, and opened her eyes once more.

 

Atlantica and the sea-side kingdom had vanished. Really, everything did, save the surface of the water where she stood and a partly cloudy sky that stretched on forever. The world made her heart ache, and Kairi could sense that it was a place of rest. Perhaps _the_ place of rest, when everything came to an end. She looked down, and saw that her outfit had changed from the white-and-purple clothes she wore in her Mark of Mastery to her usual clothes.

 

Standing beside her was Sora, hands behind his head and looking at her curiously. He had ditched the dolphin tail, and looked the way that she had seen him last, dressed in the red-and-black outfit that the fairies had made. This time, she ran across the water and hugged him tightly without hesitation, knowing that when they parted, it would be for much longer than either of them could decide.

 

“How did you know just what to do?” He asked. And there was the smile that Kairi had missed, one that could power through the darkest of days. 

 

“I thought about what you’d do to find me,” She had said countless times after they had last met that she wouldn’t cry again. “I had to make a decision, Sora. I’m so sorry…”

 

Light gathered around Sora as she approached him. Her intuition this time had spelled out that he was not long for the dreaming worlds, and that they would part ways once more. Whatever power the necklace had of bringing him back in the form of a memory or an illusion, it faded, little by little, with each passing second. That was problem with deciding not to take a shortcut, even if it would have cost her dearly.

 

“There’s nothing to apologize for. ” Even though he spoke with the same never-look-back confidence he always possessed, Sora looked sad and a bit distant, as if he had spent a good deal of time alone and very far away. “Because I know we’ll meet each other again.” She felt at ease by those words, that they and what they meant opened up possibilities.

 

“Thank you for finding me,” Sora said finally, brushing a quick kiss across her cheek. “See you in Sh—”

 

The rest of his words blurred into silence as the last traces of him vanished, leaving behind only foam bubbles that rose lazily into the afternoon. She held nothing in her arms, but knew that whatever promise they had between them would be kept. Absently, Kairi stroked the side of her face with her thumb. Then she held out her keyblade, and saw that a shining keyhole to another world had opened. It was her cue to leave, because there was nothing left for her here.

 

As the beam of light took her onto her next test and from the strange, watery world for good, Kairi was certain that the price she had paid would work out in the end.

 

At the very least, it had bought a little more time that proved to be worth everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I WANTED TO PUT THIS DIVE BOSS THAT RIKU FOUGHT THAT MADE ME VERY HUNGRY INTO THE FIC. SQUARE IF YOU DIDN'T WANT IT TO SOUND DELICIOUS, NAME IF SOMETHING THAT'S NOT 'BRAWLIMARI'
> 
> Thanks for sticking with this weird sad story that I got out of my system while playing through DDD to figure out character work for yet another KH fanfic lmfao. Let me know what you think (and if you managed to guess what I pulled story elements from)

**Author's Note:**

> You know what they say: in the dreaming worlds no one can hear you not know about the crab with the Jamaican accent that explains where you actually are


End file.
